George Mason & VCU Head to NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament

Newport News, Va. – Atlantic 10 Men’s Soccer Champion George Mason will head to William & Mary, while VCU earned at-large bid and will host Navy as the NCAA announced the bracket for its 2013 Tournament which begins Thursday.

After winning the A-10 Conference Tournament on Sunday, the George Mason men's soccer team will head to Williamsburg, Va. to play the College of William & Mary on Thursday, November 21 at 7 p.m. at Martin Family Stadium at Albert-Daly Field in the first round of the NCAA Men's Soccer Tournament

Thursday will mark the first NCAA appearance for Mason men's soccer since 2008, when they won the CAA Championship and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament, falling against #2 ranked and eventual champion Maryland 2-0. The Patriots are 5-10 in 10 NCAA Tournament appearances.

Mason enters the Tournament with a 12-2-5 record after its three-game stretch through the Atlantic 10 Tournament, defeating the likes of St. Joseph's, VCU and top-seeded Saint Louis to capture the title.

VCU will host Patriot League Champion Navy (15-3-2) on Thursday, Nov. 21 at 7 p.m. at Sports Backers Stadium. It marks the second year in a row the Rams will host a postseason match. The winner travels to Wake Forest for a second round contest on Sunday, Nov. 24 at 5 p.m.

The Rams have compiled an impressive list of wins over several marquee programs this season, including defending national champion Indiana, 2010 national champ Akron and 2012 Final Four participant Maryland. VCU, which is 3-1-1 against Top 25 teams in 2013, is 6-2-1 against ranked opponents during the last two years.

Coming off its best season in nearly a decade in 2012, Dave Giffard and his staff put together arguably the toughest schedule in the country this fall as the Rams faced 11 opponents who participated in last year's NCAA Tournament, including all of its non-conference foes, and three of the top eight national seeds (six overall) from a year ago. In all, VCU faced eight of the last 10 national champions this fall.